The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has dismissed the complaints filed against the chief election commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A statement dated Aug 15 read that complaints against "CEC Mr Sikandar Sultan Raja and members of ECP, Mr Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Mr Shah Muhammad Jatoi, have been dismissed by the SJC in its meetings held on Nov 8, 2024 and Dec 13, 2024".
The statement did not provide any details regarding the complaints.
Although the five-year tenure of CEC Raja, Sindh Member Durrani, and Balochistan Member Jatoi ended on Jan 26, they will remain in office in line with the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The amendment permits the CEC and members to remain in office until their successors are appointed. Under Article 215(4) of the Constitution, these appointments are required to be made within 45 days. However, the deadline lapsed on March 12 without any tangible progress.
Raja's tenure has been marred by controversies, with the opposition frequently criticising him over delays in holding general elections, the denial of PTI's "bat" symbol, and alleged manipulation of poll results.
The PTI had filed a complaint before the SJC in July 2024 seeking the removal of Raja and four members of the ECP. The complaint alleged that the July 12 order of the apex court has held that the election supervisor used powers in violation of the Constitution with malice and made a skewed interpretation of Jan 13 judgement of denying election symbol of "bat" to the former ruling party.
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